Talking with Marisa, listening to her calm voice and irrepressible laugh, made Lily forget the butterflies in her stomach for a minute or two. But then her mind would turn to what might happen next—and she'd feel cold and clammy and so nervous she couldn't think straight. Liam held her hand. She kept glancing across the seat, as if to make sure he was really there.

Pulling into Silver Bay, past the beach shops and children's museum, it was easy to think that this was just another summer day. The drugstore still had bins of beach balls and colorful rafts out front, along with signs for school supplies in the windows. Mothers and kids, shopping for school shoes, came out of Sutherland's in a hurry to get back to one of the last beach days.

When they got to the courthouse parking lot, Patrick spoke to the guard, who leaned into the car to shake his hand and asked him where he'd been.

The building itself was white brick, nondescript architecture from the sixties. Lily had driven past here countless times, on her way to the IGA, or the bookstore, or the record shop, or the garden center—life's little everyday journeys. How often had she come by, not even turning her head to watch the men and women on the way inside, to battle over the very things they each held most dear?

“I don't want to go inside,” she said, grasping Liam's hand.

Everyone turned to look at her. Only Marisa spoke, reaching forward over the front seat to touch Lily's shoulder.

“You can do this,” she said.

“I can't!” Lily said, filled with panic.

“Lily,” Marisa said, their eyes meeting. “You've got to believe me. I know you can do this. You're my role model. You're going to go in there and stand tall, and you're going to be heard. And we're going to be right there rooting for you.”

“All of us,” Sam said.

Lily closed her eyes, feeling the world spin.

“Yes,” Liam said softly. “All.”

Something in the way he said the word . . .

Lily slowly opened her eyes. She looked out the window and saw her friends coming toward them: Tara and Joe, Bay and Danny. They surrounded the car. “Is he here?” she heard Patrick ask Joe.

“Oh yeah,” Joe said. “All shiny and prepped.”

“Creep,” Patrick muttered.

Liam climbed out and reached back into the car for her. Lily stared at his hand. She knew that she could wait in here indefinitely, until the judge called and someone came to get her. She could stay till the court closed for the day, skip the proceedings entirely.

She'd tried flight already. Now it was time to fight. She grabbed Liam's hand, and let him pull her out of the car, into his embrace.

Joe's cell phone rang; he answered it, then covered the mouthpiece. “Excuse me,” he said. “I'll see you inside.”